Research and development expenditure in Italy amounts to approximately 17.53 billion euro.
The proportion of GDP devoted to R&D is 1.18%, which is lower than the European average standing at around 1.8% and higher only compared to countries such as Hungary, Poland and Greece. Trying to compensate for the scarce resources that governments have devoted and continue to devote to research, Italian researchers seek to obtain funds through the several funding options provided by the European Community.